


The Wedding Cottage

by JediAnnieScrambler



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Background Josh/Donna, Enemies to Lovers, Exes, F/M, New Years, No White House AU, One Shot, Snowed In, Weddings, background sam/ainsley, trapped together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29450805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediAnnieScrambler/pseuds/JediAnnieScrambler
Summary: Ex lovers, CJ Cregg and Toby Ziegler, are shocked to find each other at the wedding of their mutual friends Josh and Donna. But when they're tasked to decorate the honeymoon cottage- together- they can't stop fighting. Will getting snowed in change that?
Relationships: C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	The Wedding Cottage

**Author's Note:**

> based off the description for the hallmark movie 'the christmas cottage' 
> 
> (yes I have been working on it since before christmas)

“CJ!” Josh Lyman all but cheered as he swung the lodge door open wide, “You made it! DONNA! CJ’s here!” 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” CJ threw her arms around him, “You’re getting married Mi Amor! You’ll be such a beautiful bride Josh.” 

“Yeah yeah,” he laughed as Donna joined them. 

“CJ!” She went from Josh’s arms to Donna’s, hugging her just as tight. “Thank you for coming early! I know you’re so busy with work.”

“Cmon, you gotta meet Donna’s old neighbor, he’s the gloomiest man I’ve ever met- he makes Eeyore look cheerful!” said Josh as he took CJ’s suitcase from her. 

“Josh! Be nice! Toby is a very dear friend,” said Donna, “He was my first friend when I moved to New York.” 

“Yeah well, he’s a real bundle of laughs,” Josh said, “I’ll take this upstairs.” 

Josh and Donna had rented out a mountain lodge for their wedding, and with New Years Eve only a few days away preparations were well in hand. As Josh disappeared up the stairs CJ followed Donna into the vast living room. It was lined with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the landscape with a giant fireplace, lit and crackling. And standing beside the fireplace- 

“CJ,” said Donna, gesturing between them, “This is Toby Ziegler, Toby this is-“

CJ gaped at the man in front of her, the last person she had expected to see that week.

“Claudia Jean Cregg,” Toby supplied, turning his intense gaze onto her. 

“You guys know each other?” said Josh coming into the room. Donna was biting her lip as she watched them. 

Recovering, CJ turned to smile at Josh, “Yes, Toby and I-“

“Worked together on the McGarth campaign,” Toby supplied. 

“Wow, what a small world,” Josh said with a grin as he put his arm around Donna, “Sam should be getting here any minute, you remember Sam Seaborn, right CJ?” 

“Uh, yeah,” CJ said, still caught off guard, “I’m going to go freshen up?” 

“Here,” Josh said, handing her an old fashioned looking key, “The key for your room, it’s the third on the left.”

As CJ retreated upstairs, she could feel Toby watching her the whole way. 

… 

“When were you going to inform me that you invited my ex girlfriend to your wedding?” Toby asked Donna, a baleful expression on his face. 

Sam had arrived, taking all of Josh’s attention. The two were acting like little kids again, traipsing around the perimeter of the lodge and- as Toby could see out of the corner of his eye- having an impromptu snowball fight. That left Toby and Donna, since CJ was still up in her room. 

“She’s one of Josh’s closest friends,” said Donna in lieu of an answer. 

“And from the looks of it, you didn’t tell her either,” Toby said. 

“She doesn’t even know I know about you two,” replied Donna, “But it wouldn’t hurt you to try to be nice.”

“She left me! Did we all forget that!” he cried, but Donna merely leveled him an unimpressed look. 

“Be nice,” she said, “And don’t ruin my wedding.”

“I’m always nice,” Toby grumbled, stalking off the kitchen to find a drink. 

… 

CJ took a gulp of her coffee as she carefully avoided Toby’s intense eyes from across the room. What were the odds that Donna’s-grumpy-friend-from-New-York was Toby, her Toby, who she thought about far more than necessary for someone she thought she’d never see again. They hadn’t spoken since that night five years ago, when she’d boarded the plane for LA. They’d fought, she remembered screaming at him in the rain, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember what it had been about. 

“So that’s when I suggested that we stop and ask for directions,” Ainsley said, jogging CJ from her thoughts, “But Sam refused! You know how men and asking for directions are! Well thankfully it was just around the bend, otherwise who knows how long we’d have been lost.” 

CJ took another sip of coffee, smiling and nodding at Ainsley as she tried to focus on the conversation but she’d never felt so distracted in her life. Dinner last night had gone fine, with both CJ and Toby actively avoiding each other. But every time she looked in his direction it seemed as if he’d just looked away. 

She looked, finally lifting her head to glance across the room at him. Toby was standing between Josh and Sam, decidedly not looking in her direction. Everyone was milling about, eating breakfast, waiting to see what wedding set up needed to be done. Donna flitted around between groups of people, handing out perfectly itemized lists. 

“Donna is so calm and organized,” Ainsley said, “If Sam ever proposes I should hire Donna to plan our wedding.”

Donna grinned, handing them each a piece of paper, “Thank you so much for coming earlier to help set up, you guys are really Christmas angels.” 

“Oh nonsense,” said Ainsley, “With all of us working together it’ll be done in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” 

CJ looked down at her paper which had highlighted, _CJ and Toby: decorating the cabin._

Fuck. 

Fuck fuck fuck. 

Donna was still smiling her same cheerful smile, but it seemed to grow just a hair before she turned to Toby. He was avoiding CJ’s eyes, all but glaring at Donna. 

“You guys can take the snowmobile!” She said, “The cabin is a little bit of a ways out.”

“All the better to get your honeymoon on,” Ainsley said with a laugh, elbowing Donna, “I read in the guest book that anyone who stays in that cottage will find true love, isn’t that adorable?”

On that note, Ainsley went to find Sam as Donna continued giving directions. 

CJ looked outside, where she could see the cabin in the distance, standing out against the bright white snow. Toby stood next to her, close but not too close, not like before. 

She turned on her heel, heading back to the stairs, “I’ll get my coat and meet you at the snow mobile.”

… 

The cabin was cold, even with the tiny fire he’d started in the fireplace. Toby had driven them, with a cart of supplies in tow, CJ’s arms wrapped around his middle, tentatively at first, then firm as they sped through the frozen wild. 

Now she was unloading their supplies, pointedly ignoring him, huffing as she trudged through the snow. He shoved his hands into her pockets, sullenly following her inside. He should have never agreed to help Donna with her wedding. She probably thought herself a clever matchmaker, he reasoned, putting them together and alone like this, decorating the honeymoon suite. Meanwhile CJ clearly wanted nothing to do with him. 

CJ stomped up to the cabin, fumbling with the box she held. “Can you get the key?” she said, “it’s in my jacket pocket.”

Toby looked from her to her jacket before taking off a glove and very, very carefully reaching into her pocket. CJ huffed, looking skyward as she waited. His fingers brushed the key and he pulled it out, unlocking the door. The cabin was dark as they stepped inside. 

“It looks like we have our work cut out for us,” said CJ, setting the box down on the table. 

Toby humphed in agreement. 

They quickly divided up the tasks, each taking to their separate sides to clean and decorate. Everything had a thin layer of dust over it. Wiping down the kitchen counters, Toby snuck a glance at CJ as she dusted the living room. 

As Toby finished sweeping, he noticed up on a ladder, CJ, dusting the curtains. 

“Careful there, CJ,” he said, walking to stand at the foot of the ladder, “Do you need me to spot you?” 

“No,” CJ snapped, leaning far out, too far out with her feather duster. Just as she said that, the ladder wobbled dangerously from side to side. Without thinking, Toby reached up to steady her, keeping her from falling, but it was only after she stabilized that he realized his hands were firmly planted on her ass. 

“Toby-” CJ began tightly.

Toby jumped away, “Sorry sorry, I was- I didn’t mean-” 

“It’s fine, just- fine,” CJ said, getting off the ladder, “I’m going to go vacuum the bedroom.” 

“Yeah,” Toby nodded sheepishly, not meeting her eye as he felt his ears turn red. 

… 

CJ threw open the bedroom curtains with a little too much force. Her whole body was on fire from that little…. incident on the ladder, and her mind felt buzzed. He clearly hadn’t meant to grab her backside (and had immediately apologized) but between that and wrapping her arms around his middle as they raced through the snow to get to the cottage, CJ was feeling hot under the collar. 

“Fuck,” she muttered to herself, turning around, leaning against the window frame. 

She cleaned the bedroom- the honey room suite- losing track of time. Until Toby appeared in the doorway looking doleful. 

“Have you looked outside lately?” He asked. 

She turned to the window where, beyond the frosty pane, it had been snowing steadily all day. The drifts reached just above the lower pane, taller than she’d noticed. 

“That’s… a lot of snow.”

“Yeah,” Toby shuffled his feet, “And I don’t think we’ll be able to make it back to the lodge on that rickety snowmobile.” 

“What? No the snow can’t be _that_ deep,” CJ pushed past him and headed to the back door, flinging it open without hesitation. The snow was packed thigh high, sufficiently trapping them inside. 

“What if we call Josh and Donna?” She said, “Somebody probably has a truck or something?” 

“There’s no landline,” he said, gesturing, “And no cell service.” 

“Fuck.” 

“We have enough firewood for the night,” said Toby and they both glanced at the stack by the fireplace, “If not a couple days, but we should be able to make it back by then.” 

CJ ran a hand through her hair, shutting the door again, “Okay. Okay. We can make this work, this will be fine!” 

He nodded, “Yeah.” 

“There’s,” CJ sighed, starting again, “There’s no heat in the bedroom, the electric heater is broken.” 

“We can sleep by the fire, I guess.” 

They both glanced over at the fire, which Toby had built, crackling contentedly. It was small, but the stack of firewood next to it promised a roaring blaze. 

CJ pursed her lips giving the floor by the fireplace one last look before brushing past Toby, “I’ll get some blankets.”

“And I’ll find some food,” said Toby, mostly to himself, and CJ could feel him watch her as she retreated back to the master bedroom. 

…

Toby left the food planned for the newlyweds- the normal food stuffs but with things like strawberries and chocolate sauce mixed in for who knows what- and instead opened several cans of soup that had been pushed to the back of the cupboard. 

Bowls of soup in hand, he found CJ in the living. She’d made a makeshift bed in front of the fire, complete with a blow up mattress, blankets and pillows. Now she sat on one of the couches she’d moved up against the window, blanket tucked around her legs. 

He offered her the bowl of soup, his eyes lingering too long on hers. Toby’s hand, warm from the soup, brushed CJ’s cold fingertips as she took the bowl. 

“Thanks,”

“Yeah,”

He sat down on the chair across from her, eating his soup. It was awkward, the silence that stretched between them, only punctuated by the clinking of their spoons and the crackle of the fire. 

What were they even doing there, he wondered, glancing up at her while she wasn’t looking. They used to be so close, lovers but more than lovers- best friends- as corny as that sounded. 

“What is it?” CJ snapped, looking up.

“What? Nothing,” Toby shook his head as she narrowed her eyes.

“No, you’ve been staring at me all weekend,” CJ said, “What is it, what have I done now?” 

“You left! You’re the one who left!” said Toby, throwing his hands up. “You’re mad at me now for who knows why, when you’re the one who walked away!” 

“If you didn’t want me to move to California then why didn’t you stop me?” CJ said, getting to her feet. 

Toby stood as well, lifting his chin to look her in the eyes, “I wasn’t going to stand in the way of your career! I was trying to be supportive!”

““You wanted me to go! You practically pushed me out the door!”

“Why would I have wanted you to go? I love you!” 

CJ gaped at him, at a loss for words. Her eyes searched his face, which he could feel flush all the way up to his ears. He was suddenly all too aware of how close they were, the heat radiating off of her body, how loudly his heart was beating in his ears. 

Without warning, CJ reached forward, grabbing the front of his jacket, she pulled him in, kissing him. Toby froze in surprise for only a moment before instinct took over. His hands found her hips, pulling her all the more closer. 

Five years of hurt and inexplicable longing fueled their kiss. CJ opened her mouth, moaning softly as he deepened the kiss. It was hungry and desperate, yet all too familiar. She wrapped her arms around his neck. 

They stumbled towards the air mattress on the floor, Toby’s hands slipping under her flannel shirt. CJ gasped his name against his mouth as his hands met her skin, his fingertips tightening around her soft curves. 

“Do you want me to stop?” He asked as they broke apart. The tension that had been building all day, finally coming to a point. They were hovering beside the air mattress, beside the verge of tumbling over the edge. 

“No,” said CJ, firelight dancing in her eyes, “don’t ever stop.”

… 

Staring into the flickering firelight, CJ felt satisfied. Toby was beside her, under the quilts she’d made the air mattress up with, laying on his side. His fingertips traced lazy patterns on her bare back, her eyes growing heavy. It had been a long time since she’d gotten laid (well, since she’d gotten laid _well_ ) and even longer since she’d felt this at peace. 

She rolled over, meeting Toby’s intense gaze with a look of her own, “I moved back to D.C. two months ago.”

“Oh?” he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, and you’re still at Columbia right?”

“Claudia Jean,” Toby smiled, “Have you been keeping tabs on me?”

“No!” she flushed, suddenly embarrassed despite that they were laying naked in bed together, “You just… hear things.”

“Mmm hmm,” he murmured, sounding like he didn’t believe her. 

“Maybe some time you could come down to D.C.,” she said, “Or I could come up to New York- if you want.”

“I’d like that,”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he leaned in, softly kissing her. 

… 

It was a gorgeous wedding. Strings of soft lights decorated the lodge, framing the evergreen garlands, complete with an arch in front of the giant windows overlooking the snowscape. Donna looked like a dream in her simple yet elegant. It was off the shoulder with long sleeves, clinging to her as the train flowed behind.

CJ, from her place next to Sam as one of the groomspeople, watched Toby try to hide his handkerchief as Donna walked down the aisle. But by the time Josh and Donna were exchanging their vows, she was crying too. 

It wasn’t until the reception that they met again; CJ holding a glass of champagne, Toby ever the wallflower. They hovered awkwardly side by side, in each other’s space, before both speaking.

“That was a lovely wedding-”

“You look really nice-”

“Oh,” CJ blushed, looking down at her dark green dress, “Thank you.”

His fingertips brushed her wrist, slowly running up her bare arm. CJ watched him, drifting closer, eyes coming to rest on his mouth. It had been nearly twenty four hours since they’d last kissed, and she was embarrassed to admit she missed it. She bent closer, too tall on her heels-

“C’mon CJ!” CJ jumped away as Ainsley and Margaret ran up to her, “We don’t want to miss the bouquet toss!”

“And you,” Margaret said to Toby in an oddly serious tone, “May be interested in the garter toss, immediately following.”

Toby followed as CJ allowed herself to be dragged back to the dance floor where all the unmarried women at the wedding gathered. They waited with baited breath for Donna to throw her bouquet over her shoulder. 

CJ glanced back at Toby, offering him a sheepish shrug, but that’s when Donna threw the bouquet which landed squarely in CJ’s open arms. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as the women around her cheered. 

Despite the crush of people, she saw Sam dragging Toby to the garter toss. A grinning Josh retrieved the desired garment from Donna’s leg and held it up.

“Ready fellas?” He asked.

“Just throw it all ready!” Josh's mentor, Leo McGarry, yelled.

Josh turned around, pitching the garter up into the air, back towards the group of eligible bachelors. The white piece of material disappeared into the group of suits, but Sam yelled, “Toby caught it!”

Donna shrieked with delight as a bashful Toby and a self conscious CJ met each other in the middle of the dance floor. Toby offered her a hand, “Dance with me, Claudia Jean.”

Her face broke into a grin as she took his hand, and Toby spun her into a dip, kissing her as their friends cheered. 


End file.
